Review: Shadows in the Spring by Christina Courtenay

April 29, 2025

Review: Shadows in the Spring by Christina Courtenay

I'm delighted to welcome back the fabulous Christina Courtenay, bestselling and award-winning author of dual-timeline and historical fiction. We're celebrating the release of her new novel, Shadows in the Spring. It's well worth checking out. Read on!

Shadows in the Spring is currently on blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources. My thanks to Rachel, and to Headline Press, for a copy.

Shadows in the Spring

Christina Courtenay

Shadows in the Spring is an intriguing dual-timeline adventure through the ages that links the distant past with the fast-paced present.

In the past, we meet Duro, former gladiator who fled Pompeii just in time before the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius destroyed any traces of his past. This allows him to claim he was now a free man, returning home to his settlement in southern Britannia. Two decades earlier, he'd been taken captive as a young boy during the failed uprising by the Iceni, his tribe. His siblings were all spread across the Roman world. But his younger brother, Commios, is not too keen on having his place as chieftain taken by the brother he'd presumed dead. This opens up great conflict between the brothers.

But Duro seeks revenge of the man who killed his mother, and had him and two other siblings taken. So, soon after his arrival, he sets off to seek out the perpetrator, a Roman. But along the way, he witnesses a young Germanic girl being sold as a slave to a rather nasty piece of work, and he commits to free her.

Gisel was abducted from her village and taken across to Britannia, where she – and another man from her tribe – were sold as slaves. He covets her, and does everything in his power to get her. But he didn't expect Duro to come to Gisel's rescue.

Fast forward to the 21st century, where young Mackenna Jackson has been dating Blue, the eccentric singer of rock band, Valhalla Storm, but when she rejoins his tour early after her aunt's funeral, she's in for a shock. Furious, she ends their relationship and escapes to her late aunt's home which she has inherited.

Meanwhile, Blue's bandmate, Jonah, the band's main songwriter, has finally had enough of the singer's escapades, and announces his departure from the band. He's also been in love with Mackenna, though he's kept that little fact to himself. Now he offers his help, and soon they find that there is more to their mutual interest in ancient history, as each begins to sense something from a different time...

Will Duro be able to keep Gisel safe from harm, whilst he pursues his revenge? And what will Mackenna do now that she's dumped the guy who'd given her so much grief? Well, read this fabulous novel to find out!

Shadows in the Spring weaves a wafer-thin thread that links the present to the past.

The ancient part of the novel gives us a fascinating glimpse into the time when the Romans took over the isle of Britannia, and reduced the power of the tribes as they went. Bereft of their weapons and power, the Iceni live by the new rules, but Duro still seeks revenge of those who sent him captive to survive in the gladiatorial arenas. Ms Courtenay has researched the era very well, and we can get a real sense of place and time through his and Gisel's eyes.

The modern part is every teenage girl's dream – to date their favourite singer. But the reality of the glamorous lifestyle is somewhat different, with pressures, stresses, temptations, and obsessed fans and media. Privacy doesn't really exist, and in our days of social media, every detail is discussed by a huge group of people, making those whom it affects feel powerless. It's a great insight into a world that looks fantastic on the outside, but is full of pitfalls.

Duro was a very likeable hero – strong, honourable, handsome, and clever. One could follow his path easily, as his actions make much sense. Gisel is a victim of the times – taken from her home against her will, and threatened wherever she went. Hers was a realistic portrayal of a fate that could befall any tribeswoman.

Though sometimes too many descriptions took over the historical narrative, we still got a good glimpse into Duro's motivations in particular from his point of view, and how Gisel slowly comes round to supporting him. But why she was so nearly fooled near the end, I don't know. It felt a little like a romance cliché.

I preferred the historical story to the present-day one, as, for me, Mackenna's new love moved surprisingly fast. Blue's character is quite realistic (reminiscent of many rock stars in the ’80s in particular), but I found his jealous reaction a little over the top. Jonah is a sensible guy, down to earth, almost too good for that cutthroat industry. He has the patience of a saint, and is a fabulous character.

For me, the modern part lacked some depth that we usually find in Christina Courtenay's novels, and things moved way too fast. I didn't care much for Mackenna either, I'm afraid. For me, Jonah was the real star of the modern part of the novel.

But on the other hand, I found Ms Courtenay's description of the paparazzi and die-hard fans truly realistic, and I can imagine that some stars and their (ex-) partners find themselves in just that kind of situation. It's scary and overwhelming, and it was incredibly well portrayed. Mackenna's reaction to it made so much sense.

Fans of exciting dual-timeline stories will enjoy Shadows in the Spring. It has all the right ingredients: danger, upheaval, and personal motivations in the historical part that lead to an unusual love match; a love story in the modern part, in a highly volatile and media-focused setting.

Shadows in the Spring is another intriguing romantic adventure from Christina Courtenay that you should definitely check out!

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Blurb:

Two souls bound together but lost in time. Until now.

AD 80

Duro of the Iceni tribe escaped life as an enslaved gladiator and is now finally home in Britannia with one thing on his mind: vengeance. For 20 years he has sought the Roman legionary who destroyed his family. What he didn’t expect was Gisel: a fierce Germanic woman with long white-blonde hair, forced into slavery by the Romans. Hypnotised by her spirit and her beauty, Duro frees Gisel and slowly tries to win her trust as they work together to complete his quest.

Present Day

Mackenna Jackson returns to Bath with a broken heart, thanks to rockstar Blue Daniels. Luckily she can still count on Blue’s former bandmate Jonah Miller as a listening ear. But Jonah has secretly been fighting stronger feelings, drawn to Mac’s quiet confidence and gorgeous white-blonde hair. As they explore the area, memories they can’t quite explain flood them both.

Is the spark between Mac and Jonah in fact a sign of something much deeper – a love enduring through millennia – or can it all be an illusion?

Universal Buy Link: https://geni.us/SITS

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About the Author:

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings.

Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. SHADOWS IN THE SPRING (dual time historical romance published by Headline Review 24th April 2025) is her latest novel.